SDSM&T News

November 26, 2002
News From
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Presidential Announcement Today
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) today, Friday, Nov. 1, to announce a major and important step in the search for a new president of the university.
Tech invites the media to attend the press conference, to be held in the Surbeck Student Center Ballroom. For those unable to attend, a conference call will be available. If you wish to join by conference call, phone (605) 394-2554 before 11:45 a.m. (Mountain Time) with the number where you can be reached. Tech will call you and patch you into the conference call at 12:15 p.m. (Mountain Time)
#30#
South Dakota Tech Foundation Announces
$1 Million Gift to Support New Presidency
Dr. Howard C. Peterson, chair of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Foundation, announced today that commitments totaling $1 million from anonymous donors have been received to support the university’s new presidency.
“These donors, who wish to remain anonymous, have committed this support to enhance the overall compensation package that will be available to the new president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology,” Dr. Peterson said. “It is the donors’ desire to use this gift to supplement state resources to attract the best possible presidential candidates by providing the most competitive package possible.” The donors recognize the role of the university as a driver for technology based economic development and understand the importance the president will play in the future economy of the region and state.
The donors have committed $100,000 per year for the next 10 years to reach the $1 million donation. The $100,000 will be added to the annual salary set for the new president by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The Regents have not yet determined that salary.
“It is the intention of the Foundation to enhance this gift even further by combining the benefits of other ongoing fundraising efforts intended to provide housing and transportation for the new president,” Dr. Peterson said. “All of these efforts have one goal - to substantially increase the available resources to attract the best possible presidential candidates. Having the resources to aggressively compete in the national arena will ensure that the next president of Tech not only builds on the outstanding traditions already established, but leads this institution to new levels of prominence.”
Harvey Jewett, President of the South Dakota Board of Regents, had previously announced the retirement of SDSM&T’s current president, Dr. Richard Gowen, effective July 1, 2003. Commenting on Gowen’s years of service, Regent Jewett said, “His long service to South Dakota higher education has been felt across the state. There are few higher educational leaders who have impacted a system more or leave more of a void because of his leadership and commitment.” Gowen has served as Tech president since 1987.
Regent Pat Lebrun of Rapid City serves as chairperson of Tech’s Presidential Search Committee. The committee plans to begin reviewing credentials by the middle of November and hopes to have the search completed so that a new president is ready to take office next July 1. Twelve people have been appointed by the South Dakota Board of Regents to serve as a Campus Advisory Committee to aid in the search for a new president at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The Campus Advisory Committee is comprised of faculty, staff, students, administrators, and community members, who will work closely with the Board’s search committee throughout the process. Other Regents serving on the search committee are James Hansen of Pierre, Shane Penfield of Lemmon and Harvey Jewett of Aberdeen, ex officio member.
The anonymous $1 million gift will help the university attract top-caliber candidates from all over the country, but it means something else, Lebrun said.
“Through the generosity of the gift announced today, we enter into a new era, a partnership providing a more prominent candidate pool to choose from made possible with supplemental compensation received through the Foundation,” she said. “Combining state resources with this gift will permit us to compete in this national arena.”
Recent reports from “The Chronicle of Higher Education” indicate that this type of relationship is becoming widely used throughout the nation. One such example of that is at Virginia Tech where the president is paid more than $150,000 from private donations in addition to his state salary.
The SDSM&T Foundation exists solely to support the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Founded in 1954 as a not-for-profit South Dakota corporation, its mission is to help the university provide exceptional intellectual, professional and personal development opportunities.
For information about this announcement, call Rod Pappel, president of the Foundation, at (605) 394-2436.
#30#
Local Student Awarded Scholarship
Rebekah Dargatz, of Keystone, an Industrial Engineering major at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, has received a scholarship from the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
The Institute of Industrial Engineers awarded only one UPS Scholarship for Female Students in the country. The UPS Scholarship for Female Students is available to undergraduate students enrolled in any school in the United States and its territories, Canada and Mexico, provided the school's engineering program or equivalent is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by IIE and the student is pursuing a course of study in industrial engineering. One scholarship of $4,000 was awarded for the academic year.
Photo cutline: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Industrial Engineering professor Dr. Carter Kerk congratulates Rebekah Dargatz of Keystone for receiving the UPS Scholarship for Female Students from the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
#30#
Two Scholarships Created At South Dakota Tech
Donors have created two new scholarships at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Ray and Jeanne Chaussee established the Ray and Jeanne Chaussee Athletic Scholarship. Ray Chaussee graduated from Tech in 1963 with a degree in Chemical Engineering.
Tech will award the scholarship to a student athlete at Tech who is from Chamberlain. It may be awarded to an incoming freshman or to a current student. The recipient may receive the award more than one year. If there are no student athletes from Chamberlain, Tech will award the scholarship to a varsity football player at Tech.
Dr. Harvey R. Fraser, Jr. established the Jean Fraser Scholarship for Women to honor his mother. Harvey Fraser Jr. is the son of Dr. Harvey R. Fraser, president of Tech from 1966 to 1975.
Tech will award the scholarship to a full time female student in good academic standing at Tech. The recipient may receive the award more than one year provided they continue to meet the criteria and are continuing progress toward completion of a degree.
For information about either of the scholarships, call (605) 394-2436.
#30#
The Art Of Lunch
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students will learn the art of business dining during a Business Lunch Etiquette program scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Surbeck Student Center Bump Lounge.
Dave Menzel, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s director of dining services, will give students pointers about how to make a good impression in a social setting. Staff will serve the students a three- or four-course business lunch, and Menzel will go over the basics about eating soup, which fork to use first, how to pass food and other proper dining practices. Students will dress in interview or business casual attire.
Career Planning and the Student Leadership Development Team are co-sponsoring the event.
#30#
Christmas Concert Series A “Cathedral Christmas”
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Concert Choir and Master Chorale will celebrate a “Cathedral Christmas” during the 20th annual Christmas Concert series.
The choirs will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and Sunday, Dec. 8, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City.
To celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary, Tech music director Dr. James Feiszli has arranged and edited one of the last works by the great Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi. Composed for St. Marks Basilica in Venice in 1641, “Gloria in Excelsis” set music to the words first sung by the angelic chorus to the shepherds outside Bethlehem. The concerts also will include holiday favorites such as “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and others. The concerts will feature as soloists Tech’s 2002-2003 music scholarship winners and the Dakota Baroque and Classic Company from Vermillion as instrumentalists. Local organist and organ builder Justin Matters will be at the console of the cathedral organ as the choirs sing their traditional candlelight carol service.
Tech invites the public to attend. Admission is free. For information, call 394-2433.
#30#
Tech Environmental Club Presents Hybrid Car
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Tech Environmental Club invites the public to see and test drive a gas-electric hybrid car during an event next week. Visitors can see and drive the car from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, in front of the Surbeck Student Center on campus.
A gasoline-electric hybrid car, designed to reduce emissions and improve mileage, is just that – a cross between a gasoline- and electric-powered car. In a hybrid, the gasoline engine turns a generator that either charges batteries or powers an electric motor that drives the transmission.
The Tech Environmental Club, a student organization re-energized two months ago to increase environmental and recycling awareness around campus, is sponsoring the event.
For information, call Sylvio Mannel at (605) 462-6244.
#30#
Tech Professor Writes Textbook
Dr. Ken Han, distinguished professor, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, recently wrote a textbook entitled, "Fundamentals of Aqueous Metallurgy." The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration published the textbook.
This textbook is an introduction to interfacial phenomena, hydrometallurgy, and metallurgical kinetics. It is designed for college juniors and seniors and first-year graduate students who want to learn the fundamental principles of water-based metallurgy.
#30# Stress Syndrome Topic Of Forum
Gary Johnson of the Veteran’s Affairs Office in Rapid City will discuss Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and its effect on veterans Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The forum will be held at noon in the Surbeck Student Center Bump Lounge. Lunch is available for purchase beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Tech’s Luthern Campus Ministries, United Campus Ministries and Office of Multicultural Affairs are sponsoring the event.
#30#
Veteran’s Day Scholastic Chess Tournament
Scheduled for November 9
Students from throughout South Dakota will compete in the Veteran’s Day Scholastic Chess Tournament at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Open to players – from novice to expert – in grades K-12, the Veteran’s Day Scholastic will give young people a chance to test their strategic thinking. All entrants will play five tournament games. Rounds start at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. No one will be eliminated.
Trophies will be awarded to the top five finishers in four grade divisions: primary (K-3), elementary (K-6), middle school (K-9), and high school (K-12); and to the top team in each division.
The tournament is sponsored by the Southwest Middle School Chess Club, the Stevens High School Chess Club, the Children’s Science Center and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. It is sanctioned by the U.S. Chess Federation.
#30#
Shuttle Flight Includes First Native American Astronaut
Commander John Herrington will become the first tribal registered Native American astronaut to fly in space when the Space Shuttle Endeavour launches next week.
Herrington, of Wetemku, Okla., spoke at the Crazy Horse Monument’s 50th Anniversary celebration. The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology awards a $1,000 scholarship every year in Herrington’s honor.
Endeavour is set to launch Nov. 11 on a mission that will carry the International Space Station (ISS) into its third year of permanent occupancy with a new crew and a new, 14-ton truss segment to enhance future cooling and power systems. Endeavour will launch between midnight and 4 a.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A precise launch time will be announced about 24 hours before liftoff.
Endeavour also will carry the Station's first port integrated truss segment, designated Port One. Together with the Starboard One truss installed in October, the Port One truss will provide additional station cooling and support for a massive power system that ultimately will hold almost an acre of solar panels to fuel a complex of orbiting laboratories. The Port One truss also includes the second of two human-powered railcars, called Crew and Equipment Translation Aid carts, to allow spacewalkers to quickly traverse a railway atop the truss.
Herrington is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. NASA selected him for its astronaut program in April 1996. Initially, Herrington was assigned to the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office, where he served as a member of the Astronaut Support Personnel team responsible for Shuttle launch preparations and post-landing operations.
On the Endeavour mission, he will serve as flight engineer during launch and landing. He also will serve as extravehicular activity crewmember 2 for the three planned spacewalks.
#30#
Tech Professor Writes Book
Signing Scheduled For Dec. 14
The arrival of immigrants on America’s shores has always posed a problem: once they are here, how are these diverse people transformed into Americans? The Americanization movement of the 1910s and 1920s addressed this challenge by seeking to train immigrants for citizenship.
In the new book, “Americanizing the West,” South Dakota School of Mines and Technology history professor Dr. Frank Van Nuys examines this issue. For the first time, a book looks at how the Americanization movement, in an effort to help integrate an unruly West into the emerging national system, was forced to reconcile the myth of rugged individualism with the demands of a planned society.
Van Nuys will sign copies of “Americanizing the West” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Prince & Pauper Village, 902 Mount Rushmore Road in Rapid City.
In an era convulsed by world war and socialist revolution, those in the Americanization movement were especially concerned about the susceptibility of immigrants to un-American propaganda and union agitation. In “Americanizing the West,” Van Nuys tells how hundreds of bureaucrats, educators, employers and reformers developed adult immigrant education programs. He also examines how these attempts contributed more toward bureaucratizing the West than it did to turning immigrants into productive citizens.
The mystique of the white pioneer past still maintains a powerful hold on ideas of American identity. We still deal with many of these issues through laws and propositions that target immigrants and alien workers. “Americanizing the West” puts current headlines in perspective by showing how the Americanization movement helped make the West what it is today.
#30#
Leah Hardy: Enshrined Metaphors
The art exhibit, “Leah Hardy: Enshrined Metaphors,” opens Friday, Nov. 22, at the Apex Gallery on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus.
An opening reception is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 22, with a gallery talk by the artist at 5 p.m. The museum invites the pubic to attend.
Leah Hardy’s exquisitely crafted ceramic shrines are intimate in size and intimate in content. There is a biographical aspect to Hardy’s work that speaks to her childhood experiences of working with materials both natural and manufactured.
“I have been making things since I was a child – everything from mud pies to grass and leaf attire, she said. “From old catalogs I would cut out paper people, foliage and animals to stand up inside of shoebox shrines.” She returned to making shrines 30 years later. “In my wall pieces I have employed the elements of niches, peep holes, and most recently, doors that open and close,” she said. “All of these aspects provide the elements of discovery for the viewer, and in this manner I can disclose personal experiences through a vocabulary of symbols and forms.”
Hardy is assistant professor of art at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. She was awarded a Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship in 2000. Her extensive exhibition record, teaching experience, apprenticeships and residencies all point to her passion for the art of ceramics while underscoring her ability for artistic expression. #30#
Gift Funds Telecommunications Lab At Tech
A new laboratory at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will help professors and students conduct research that could influence the next waves of the telecommunications revolution.
A donation of more than $1.2 million from Tech alum Steven P. Miller made the lab possible. Miller will return to campus Friday, Nov. 22, to help dedicate the lab named in his honor. The Miller Lab, located in Tech’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, will be used for teaching and research related to applied electromagnetics.
The same donation created the faculty position occupied by Dr. Keith W. Whites. Whites, the Steven P. Miller Chair, has worked since August 2001 to establish a telecommunications focus in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Whites has secured more than $600,000 in outside funding to make that happen.
“The Miller Lab will allow Dr. Whites to conduct fundamental and applied research with a special emphasis in telecommunications,” Dr. Larry Simonson, chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, said. “The combination of the state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and Keith’s expertise has already greatly expanded our teaching and research capabilities.”
Miller and Tech officials will dedicate the lab at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22, in the Electrical Engineering and Physics Building Room 230. Tech invites the media to attend to see how the lab will allow Tech professors and students to make strides in the telecommunications field.
“The effort has enhanced our university’s ability to attract outstanding undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty,” Simonson said. “It will also allow South Dakota Tech form partnerships with economic development efforts in the creation of entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for engineering and science graduates.”
Whites is a South Dakota native. He graduated from Madison High School in Madison, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Tech in 1986, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign. Before coming to Tech, he taught and conducted research for ten years at the University of Kentucky.
Whites specializes in applied electromagnetics and wireless communications, and has won a number of governmental and industrial research grants and awards. In addition to research, Whites has developed two new courses in computational electromagnetics, as well as the new course, “Wireless Communications.” That class gives students the chance to learn the theoretical and practical intricacies of analog communication electronics. Whites has written and co-written two textbooks, “Introduction to Electromagnetic Fields” and “Visual Electromagnetics for Mathcad.��
“It is an honor to hold the Miller Chair,” Whites said. “Funding from the endowment has provided me the opportunity to focus efforts on cutting-edge research with current equipment technologies. Applying this knowledge in the classroom enhances our students’ academic growth and competitiveness in the job market.”
Steven P. Miller graduated from Tech in 1969 with an electrical engineering degree. He established Tech’s first-ever endowed chair, the Steven P. Miller Chair in Electrical Engineering, with a gift of more than $1.2 million in 1999. Miller grew up in Beresford and graduated from high school in 1965. After graduation, Miller married Kathleen L. Casey of Madison and went to work for Texas Instruments. During his nine-year tenure there, he held various engineering positions. In 1973, he became the manager of the Surface Acoustic Wave Device Engineering and Development Laboratory.
In the mid-1970s, Miller and three of his co-workers wrote a business plan to raise venture capital financing for a new company. Miller helped form a management team that succeeded in raising capital and formed Sawtek in 1978. Sawtek began producing SAW filters, devices that reduce noise and interference in wireless communications such as cell phones, cable television, wireless Internet, satellite communications, and others.
Throughout the eighties, Miller and his partners witnessed Sawtek grow as the market for its components exploded. With the advent of cellular phone technology, demand grew even more.
Miller served as president of Sawtek from its formation in 1978, chief executive officer from 1986, and chairman of the board from 1996. In September 1999, Miller retired but remained chairman. In 2001, Sawtek merged with TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. Miller has assumed a position on TriQuint’s nine-member board of directors.
“Kathy and I are pleased with the efforts and early results stemming from the endowment,” Miller said. “Keith Whites’ expertise has expanded the curriculum base of Tech in order to better educate the students, community, and region. We look forward to the benefits this technical expertise will provide.”
#30#
Experience Diwali
Experience Indian culture Sunday, Nov. 24, during the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology India Club’s annual Diwali celebration. The event is free and open to the public.
Visitors can sample Indian food, watch traditional Indian dances, meet Indian students, and, weather permitting, enjoy a fireworks display. The event begins at 5 p.m. in the Surbeck Student Center on the Tech campus. The fireworks will launch from the parking lot between the Surbeck Student Center and the Devereaux Library.
Diwali is the most well known of the Indian festivals. It is celebrated throughout India, as well as in Indian communities throughout the world. It is also known as the "festival of lights” because of the common practice of lighting small oil lamps called diyas and placing them around the home, in courtyards, verandahs, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls. In urban areas, candles are often substituted for diyas.
Exchanging sweets and fireworks displays usually accompany Diwali celebrations. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across India. In north India, Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king. In Gujarat, the festival honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. In Bengal, it is associated with the goddess Kali. Everywhere, it signifies the renewal of life, and it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival. Diwali also heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season.
#30#
Museum of Geology Digs Up Holiday Tradition
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Museum of Geology is digging up a holiday tradition.
Museum staff will host its Christmas Open House starting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 2. The Museum revived the event, including the placing of a Santa’s cap on the plesiosaur, last year. The museum staff invites everyone to attend and join them for refreshments as they celebrate a very alive holiday tradition. Two museum volunteers will cap the plesiosaur at 9:30 a.m.
For information, call the museum at 394-2467.
#30#
Nostalgia Night Series Strikes Gold
John Wayne. Elizabeth Taylor. Cary Grant. Jimmy Stewart. Jack Lemmon. Judy Garland. Clint Eastwood. Clark Gable. They have been Hollywood’s biggest stars whose names meant guaranteed success at the box office. They return to the big screen during the Friends of the Devereaux Library’s 2003 Nostalgia Night Film Series, “The Midas Touch.” The 10-film series begins Sunday, Jan. 12.
The Elks Theatre in downtown Rapid City will show the films at 6 p.m. each Sunday starting Jan. 12. Ticket books are now on sale for $30 each at the Devereaux Library on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus, at the Elks Theatre and at Prince & Pauper Village. Individual tickets for each movie will be available at the door for $4.50 the evening of the film, on a space available basis.
The Friends of the Devereaux Library chooses themes that include a variety of films, genres, years and performers.
The Friends of the Devereaux Library uses all the money raised to benefit the campus library. Past projects include the library’s downtime area where students can sit in comfortable furniture to read or study, as well as the library’s video and compact disc collection. The money allows the library to purchase things outside normal funding. Without the money from the series, these things wouldn’t exist at all.
Nostalgia Night 2003: “The Midas Touch”
January 12 Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly star, and stare, in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller, “Rear Window.” Sponsored by TSP
January 19 Jack Lemmon shines in his Oscar winning performance as Ensign Pulver in “Mister Roberts. Henry Fonda and James Cagney also star in the 1955 World War II comedy/drama. Sponsored by South Dakota Concrete Products and GCC Dacotah
January 26 Elizabeth Taylor is at her best as the daughter of Spencer Tracy in the 1950 comedy, “Father of the Bride.�� Sponsored by Dean Kurtz Construction Company and Ketel Thorstenson, LLP
February 2 Clark Gable, at the height of his career, teams up with Myrna Loy for the 1938 action/comedy, “Too Hot To Handle.” Sponsored by Brink Electric Construction, United Corporation and US Bank
February 9 Judy Garland is spectacular, but Margaret O’Brien steals the show in the all-American 1944 musical, “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Sponsored by National American University February 16 Box office favorite Gary Cooper gives an Oscar-winning performance in the critically acclaimed 1941 drama, “Sergeant York.” Sponsored by First Western Bank, Micro Solutions and SDSM&T Alumni Association
February 23 One of cinema’s greatest legends, John Wayne, gives one of his best performances in the legendary 1952 film, “The Quiet Man.” Sponsored by Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, PC
March 2 Silver screen idol Cary Grant causes swoons in the 1957 romance, “An Affair to Remember.” Sponsored by Wells Fargo, Dave Schmidt Insurance Agency and SDSM&T Foundation
March 9 William Holden and Gloria Swanson give extraordinary performances in the classic 1950 black comedy, “Sunset Boulevard.” Sponsored by Pet Pantry
March 16 Clint Eastwood is quick on the draw in the role that launched him into superstardom, Sergio Leone’s popular 1966 classic, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Sponsored by RESPEC
#30#
Advent Reflections
Lutheran Campus Ministry at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology invites everyone to attend any of three “Advent Reflections” scheduled in December.
Each Advent Reflections will be a quiet candlelight gathering with guided Advent scripture readings. The events give everyone who attends a chance to reflect on the meaning of Advent, the period of time that includes the four Sundays before Christmas.
Each event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The dates and locations:
•
Wednesday, Dec. 4, Surbeck Student Center
•
Wednesday, Dec. 11, Surbeck Student Center
•
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Surbeck Student Center
Call 355-3073 for information.
#30#

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

November 26, 2002
News From
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Presidential Announcement Today
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will hold a press conference at 12:30 p.m. (Mountain Time) today, Friday, Nov. 1, to announce a major and important step in the search for a new president of the university.
Tech invites the media to attend the press conference, to be held in the Surbeck Student Center Ballroom. For those unable to attend, a conference call will be available. If you wish to join by conference call, phone (605) 394-2554 before 11:45 a.m. (Mountain Time) with the number where you can be reached. Tech will call you and patch you into the conference call at 12:15 p.m. (Mountain Time)
#30#
South Dakota Tech Foundation Announces
$1 Million Gift to Support New Presidency
Dr. Howard C. Peterson, chair of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Foundation, announced today that commitments totaling $1 million from anonymous donors have been received to support the university’s new presidency.
“These donors, who wish to remain anonymous, have committed this support to enhance the overall compensation package that will be available to the new president of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology,” Dr. Peterson said. “It is the donors’ desire to use this gift to supplement state resources to attract the best possible presidential candidates by providing the most competitive package possible.” The donors recognize the role of the university as a driver for technology based economic development and understand the importance the president will play in the future economy of the region and state.
The donors have committed $100,000 per year for the next 10 years to reach the $1 million donation. The $100,000 will be added to the annual salary set for the new president by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The Regents have not yet determined that salary.
“It is the intention of the Foundation to enhance this gift even further by combining the benefits of other ongoing fundraising efforts intended to provide housing and transportation for the new president,” Dr. Peterson said. “All of these efforts have one goal - to substantially increase the available resources to attract the best possible presidential candidates. Having the resources to aggressively compete in the national arena will ensure that the next president of Tech not only builds on the outstanding traditions already established, but leads this institution to new levels of prominence.”
Harvey Jewett, President of the South Dakota Board of Regents, had previously announced the retirement of SDSM&T’s current president, Dr. Richard Gowen, effective July 1, 2003. Commenting on Gowen’s years of service, Regent Jewett said, “His long service to South Dakota higher education has been felt across the state. There are few higher educational leaders who have impacted a system more or leave more of a void because of his leadership and commitment.” Gowen has served as Tech president since 1987.
Regent Pat Lebrun of Rapid City serves as chairperson of Tech’s Presidential Search Committee. The committee plans to begin reviewing credentials by the middle of November and hopes to have the search completed so that a new president is ready to take office next July 1. Twelve people have been appointed by the South Dakota Board of Regents to serve as a Campus Advisory Committee to aid in the search for a new president at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The Campus Advisory Committee is comprised of faculty, staff, students, administrators, and community members, who will work closely with the Board’s search committee throughout the process. Other Regents serving on the search committee are James Hansen of Pierre, Shane Penfield of Lemmon and Harvey Jewett of Aberdeen, ex officio member.
The anonymous $1 million gift will help the university attract top-caliber candidates from all over the country, but it means something else, Lebrun said.
“Through the generosity of the gift announced today, we enter into a new era, a partnership providing a more prominent candidate pool to choose from made possible with supplemental compensation received through the Foundation,” she said. “Combining state resources with this gift will permit us to compete in this national arena.”
Recent reports from “The Chronicle of Higher Education” indicate that this type of relationship is becoming widely used throughout the nation. One such example of that is at Virginia Tech where the president is paid more than $150,000 from private donations in addition to his state salary.
The SDSM&T Foundation exists solely to support the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Founded in 1954 as a not-for-profit South Dakota corporation, its mission is to help the university provide exceptional intellectual, professional and personal development opportunities.
For information about this announcement, call Rod Pappel, president of the Foundation, at (605) 394-2436.
#30#
Local Student Awarded Scholarship
Rebekah Dargatz, of Keystone, an Industrial Engineering major at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, has received a scholarship from the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
The Institute of Industrial Engineers awarded only one UPS Scholarship for Female Students in the country. The UPS Scholarship for Female Students is available to undergraduate students enrolled in any school in the United States and its territories, Canada and Mexico, provided the school's engineering program or equivalent is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by IIE and the student is pursuing a course of study in industrial engineering. One scholarship of $4,000 was awarded for the academic year.
Photo cutline: South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Industrial Engineering professor Dr. Carter Kerk congratulates Rebekah Dargatz of Keystone for receiving the UPS Scholarship for Female Students from the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
#30#
Two Scholarships Created At South Dakota Tech
Donors have created two new scholarships at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Ray and Jeanne Chaussee established the Ray and Jeanne Chaussee Athletic Scholarship. Ray Chaussee graduated from Tech in 1963 with a degree in Chemical Engineering.
Tech will award the scholarship to a student athlete at Tech who is from Chamberlain. It may be awarded to an incoming freshman or to a current student. The recipient may receive the award more than one year. If there are no student athletes from Chamberlain, Tech will award the scholarship to a varsity football player at Tech.
Dr. Harvey R. Fraser, Jr. established the Jean Fraser Scholarship for Women to honor his mother. Harvey Fraser Jr. is the son of Dr. Harvey R. Fraser, president of Tech from 1966 to 1975.
Tech will award the scholarship to a full time female student in good academic standing at Tech. The recipient may receive the award more than one year provided they continue to meet the criteria and are continuing progress toward completion of a degree.
For information about either of the scholarships, call (605) 394-2436.
#30#
The Art Of Lunch
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology students will learn the art of business dining during a Business Lunch Etiquette program scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Surbeck Student Center Bump Lounge.
Dave Menzel, the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s director of dining services, will give students pointers about how to make a good impression in a social setting. Staff will serve the students a three- or four-course business lunch, and Menzel will go over the basics about eating soup, which fork to use first, how to pass food and other proper dining practices. Students will dress in interview or business casual attire.
Career Planning and the Student Leadership Development Team are co-sponsoring the event.
#30#
Christmas Concert Series A “Cathedral Christmas”
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Concert Choir and Master Chorale will celebrate a “Cathedral Christmas” during the 20th annual Christmas Concert series.
The choirs will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and Sunday, Dec. 8, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City.
To celebrate the series’ 20th anniversary, Tech music director Dr. James Feiszli has arranged and edited one of the last works by the great Baroque composer Claudio Monteverdi. Composed for St. Marks Basilica in Venice in 1641, “Gloria in Excelsis” set music to the words first sung by the angelic chorus to the shepherds outside Bethlehem. The concerts also will include holiday favorites such as “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and others. The concerts will feature as soloists Tech’s 2002-2003 music scholarship winners and the Dakota Baroque and Classic Company from Vermillion as instrumentalists. Local organist and organ builder Justin Matters will be at the console of the cathedral organ as the choirs sing their traditional candlelight carol service.
Tech invites the public to attend. Admission is free. For information, call 394-2433.
#30#
Tech Environmental Club Presents Hybrid Car
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Tech Environmental Club invites the public to see and test drive a gas-electric hybrid car during an event next week. Visitors can see and drive the car from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, in front of the Surbeck Student Center on campus.
A gasoline-electric hybrid car, designed to reduce emissions and improve mileage, is just that – a cross between a gasoline- and electric-powered car. In a hybrid, the gasoline engine turns a generator that either charges batteries or powers an electric motor that drives the transmission.
The Tech Environmental Club, a student organization re-energized two months ago to increase environmental and recycling awareness around campus, is sponsoring the event.
For information, call Sylvio Mannel at (605) 462-6244.
#30#
Tech Professor Writes Textbook
Dr. Ken Han, distinguished professor, Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, recently wrote a textbook entitled, "Fundamentals of Aqueous Metallurgy." The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration published the textbook.
This textbook is an introduction to interfacial phenomena, hydrometallurgy, and metallurgical kinetics. It is designed for college juniors and seniors and first-year graduate students who want to learn the fundamental principles of water-based metallurgy.
#30# Stress Syndrome Topic Of Forum
Gary Johnson of the Veteran’s Affairs Office in Rapid City will discuss Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and its effect on veterans Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. The forum will be held at noon in the Surbeck Student Center Bump Lounge. Lunch is available for purchase beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Tech’s Luthern Campus Ministries, United Campus Ministries and Office of Multicultural Affairs are sponsoring the event.
#30#
Veteran’s Day Scholastic Chess Tournament
Scheduled for November 9
Students from throughout South Dakota will compete in the Veteran’s Day Scholastic Chess Tournament at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City on Saturday, Nov. 9, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Open to players – from novice to expert – in grades K-12, the Veteran’s Day Scholastic will give young people a chance to test their strategic thinking. All entrants will play five tournament games. Rounds start at 9 a.m., 10:30 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. No one will be eliminated.
Trophies will be awarded to the top five finishers in four grade divisions: primary (K-3), elementary (K-6), middle school (K-9), and high school (K-12); and to the top team in each division.
The tournament is sponsored by the Southwest Middle School Chess Club, the Stevens High School Chess Club, the Children’s Science Center and the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. It is sanctioned by the U.S. Chess Federation.
#30#
Shuttle Flight Includes First Native American Astronaut
Commander John Herrington will become the first tribal registered Native American astronaut to fly in space when the Space Shuttle Endeavour launches next week.
Herrington, of Wetemku, Okla., spoke at the Crazy Horse Monument’s 50th Anniversary celebration. The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology awards a $1,000 scholarship every year in Herrington’s honor.
Endeavour is set to launch Nov. 11 on a mission that will carry the International Space Station (ISS) into its third year of permanent occupancy with a new crew and a new, 14-ton truss segment to enhance future cooling and power systems. Endeavour will launch between midnight and 4 a.m. EST from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A precise launch time will be announced about 24 hours before liftoff.
Endeavour also will carry the Station's first port integrated truss segment, designated Port One. Together with the Starboard One truss installed in October, the Port One truss will provide additional station cooling and support for a massive power system that ultimately will hold almost an acre of solar panels to fuel a complex of orbiting laboratories. The Port One truss also includes the second of two human-powered railcars, called Crew and Equipment Translation Aid carts, to allow spacewalkers to quickly traverse a railway atop the truss.
Herrington is an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. NASA selected him for its astronaut program in April 1996. Initially, Herrington was assigned to the Flight Support Branch of the Astronaut Office, where he served as a member of the Astronaut Support Personnel team responsible for Shuttle launch preparations and post-landing operations.
On the Endeavour mission, he will serve as flight engineer during launch and landing. He also will serve as extravehicular activity crewmember 2 for the three planned spacewalks.
#30#
Tech Professor Writes Book
Signing Scheduled For Dec. 14
The arrival of immigrants on America’s shores has always posed a problem: once they are here, how are these diverse people transformed into Americans? The Americanization movement of the 1910s and 1920s addressed this challenge by seeking to train immigrants for citizenship.
In the new book, “Americanizing the West,” South Dakota School of Mines and Technology history professor Dr. Frank Van Nuys examines this issue. For the first time, a book looks at how the Americanization movement, in an effort to help integrate an unruly West into the emerging national system, was forced to reconcile the myth of rugged individualism with the demands of a planned society.
Van Nuys will sign copies of “Americanizing the West” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Prince & Pauper Village, 902 Mount Rushmore Road in Rapid City.
In an era convulsed by world war and socialist revolution, those in the Americanization movement were especially concerned about the susceptibility of immigrants to un-American propaganda and union agitation. In “Americanizing the West,” Van Nuys tells how hundreds of bureaucrats, educators, employers and reformers developed adult immigrant education programs. He also examines how these attempts contributed more toward bureaucratizing the West than it did to turning immigrants into productive citizens.
The mystique of the white pioneer past still maintains a powerful hold on ideas of American identity. We still deal with many of these issues through laws and propositions that target immigrants and alien workers. “Americanizing the West” puts current headlines in perspective by showing how the Americanization movement helped make the West what it is today.
#30#
Leah Hardy: Enshrined Metaphors
The art exhibit, “Leah Hardy: Enshrined Metaphors,” opens Friday, Nov. 22, at the Apex Gallery on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus.
An opening reception is scheduled from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Nov. 22, with a gallery talk by the artist at 5 p.m. The museum invites the pubic to attend.
Leah Hardy’s exquisitely crafted ceramic shrines are intimate in size and intimate in content. There is a biographical aspect to Hardy’s work that speaks to her childhood experiences of working with materials both natural and manufactured.
“I have been making things since I was a child – everything from mud pies to grass and leaf attire, she said. “From old catalogs I would cut out paper people, foliage and animals to stand up inside of shoebox shrines.” She returned to making shrines 30 years later. “In my wall pieces I have employed the elements of niches, peep holes, and most recently, doors that open and close,” she said. “All of these aspects provide the elements of discovery for the viewer, and in this manner I can disclose personal experiences through a vocabulary of symbols and forms.”
Hardy is assistant professor of art at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. She was awarded a Wyoming Arts Council Fellowship in 2000. Her extensive exhibition record, teaching experience, apprenticeships and residencies all point to her passion for the art of ceramics while underscoring her ability for artistic expression. #30#
Gift Funds Telecommunications Lab At Tech
A new laboratory at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology will help professors and students conduct research that could influence the next waves of the telecommunications revolution.
A donation of more than $1.2 million from Tech alum Steven P. Miller made the lab possible. Miller will return to campus Friday, Nov. 22, to help dedicate the lab named in his honor. The Miller Lab, located in Tech’s Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, will be used for teaching and research related to applied electromagnetics.
The same donation created the faculty position occupied by Dr. Keith W. Whites. Whites, the Steven P. Miller Chair, has worked since August 2001 to establish a telecommunications focus in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. Whites has secured more than $600,000 in outside funding to make that happen.
“The Miller Lab will allow Dr. Whites to conduct fundamental and applied research with a special emphasis in telecommunications,” Dr. Larry Simonson, chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, said. “The combination of the state-of-the-art laboratory equipment and Keith’s expertise has already greatly expanded our teaching and research capabilities.”
Miller and Tech officials will dedicate the lab at 11 a.m. Friday, Nov. 22, in the Electrical Engineering and Physics Building Room 230. Tech invites the media to attend to see how the lab will allow Tech professors and students to make strides in the telecommunications field.
“The effort has enhanced our university’s ability to attract outstanding undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty,” Simonson said. “It will also allow South Dakota Tech form partnerships with economic development efforts in the creation of entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for engineering and science graduates.”
Whites is a South Dakota native. He graduated from Madison High School in Madison, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Tech in 1986, and his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering at the University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign. Before coming to Tech, he taught and conducted research for ten years at the University of Kentucky.
Whites specializes in applied electromagnetics and wireless communications, and has won a number of governmental and industrial research grants and awards. In addition to research, Whites has developed two new courses in computational electromagnetics, as well as the new course, “Wireless Communications.” That class gives students the chance to learn the theoretical and practical intricacies of analog communication electronics. Whites has written and co-written two textbooks, “Introduction to Electromagnetic Fields” and “Visual Electromagnetics for Mathcad.��
“It is an honor to hold the Miller Chair,” Whites said. “Funding from the endowment has provided me the opportunity to focus efforts on cutting-edge research with current equipment technologies. Applying this knowledge in the classroom enhances our students’ academic growth and competitiveness in the job market.”
Steven P. Miller graduated from Tech in 1969 with an electrical engineering degree. He established Tech’s first-ever endowed chair, the Steven P. Miller Chair in Electrical Engineering, with a gift of more than $1.2 million in 1999. Miller grew up in Beresford and graduated from high school in 1965. After graduation, Miller married Kathleen L. Casey of Madison and went to work for Texas Instruments. During his nine-year tenure there, he held various engineering positions. In 1973, he became the manager of the Surface Acoustic Wave Device Engineering and Development Laboratory.
In the mid-1970s, Miller and three of his co-workers wrote a business plan to raise venture capital financing for a new company. Miller helped form a management team that succeeded in raising capital and formed Sawtek in 1978. Sawtek began producing SAW filters, devices that reduce noise and interference in wireless communications such as cell phones, cable television, wireless Internet, satellite communications, and others.
Throughout the eighties, Miller and his partners witnessed Sawtek grow as the market for its components exploded. With the advent of cellular phone technology, demand grew even more.
Miller served as president of Sawtek from its formation in 1978, chief executive officer from 1986, and chairman of the board from 1996. In September 1999, Miller retired but remained chairman. In 2001, Sawtek merged with TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc. Miller has assumed a position on TriQuint’s nine-member board of directors.
“Kathy and I are pleased with the efforts and early results stemming from the endowment,” Miller said. “Keith Whites’ expertise has expanded the curriculum base of Tech in order to better educate the students, community, and region. We look forward to the benefits this technical expertise will provide.”
#30#
Experience Diwali
Experience Indian culture Sunday, Nov. 24, during the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology India Club’s annual Diwali celebration. The event is free and open to the public.
Visitors can sample Indian food, watch traditional Indian dances, meet Indian students, and, weather permitting, enjoy a fireworks display. The event begins at 5 p.m. in the Surbeck Student Center on the Tech campus. The fireworks will launch from the parking lot between the Surbeck Student Center and the Devereaux Library.
Diwali is the most well known of the Indian festivals. It is celebrated throughout India, as well as in Indian communities throughout the world. It is also known as the "festival of lights” because of the common practice of lighting small oil lamps called diyas and placing them around the home, in courtyards, verandahs, and gardens, as well as on roof-tops and outer walls. In urban areas, candles are often substituted for diyas.
Exchanging sweets and fireworks displays usually accompany Diwali celebrations. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across India. In north India, Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king. In Gujarat, the festival honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. In Bengal, it is associated with the goddess Kali. Everywhere, it signifies the renewal of life, and it is common to wear new clothes on the day of the festival. Diwali also heralds the approach of winter and the beginning of the sowing season.
#30#
Museum of Geology Digs Up Holiday Tradition
The South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Museum of Geology is digging up a holiday tradition.
Museum staff will host its Christmas Open House starting at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 2. The Museum revived the event, including the placing of a Santa’s cap on the plesiosaur, last year. The museum staff invites everyone to attend and join them for refreshments as they celebrate a very alive holiday tradition. Two museum volunteers will cap the plesiosaur at 9:30 a.m.
For information, call the museum at 394-2467.
#30#
Nostalgia Night Series Strikes Gold
John Wayne. Elizabeth Taylor. Cary Grant. Jimmy Stewart. Jack Lemmon. Judy Garland. Clint Eastwood. Clark Gable. They have been Hollywood’s biggest stars whose names meant guaranteed success at the box office. They return to the big screen during the Friends of the Devereaux Library’s 2003 Nostalgia Night Film Series, “The Midas Touch.” The 10-film series begins Sunday, Jan. 12.
The Elks Theatre in downtown Rapid City will show the films at 6 p.m. each Sunday starting Jan. 12. Ticket books are now on sale for $30 each at the Devereaux Library on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus, at the Elks Theatre and at Prince & Pauper Village. Individual tickets for each movie will be available at the door for $4.50 the evening of the film, on a space available basis.
The Friends of the Devereaux Library chooses themes that include a variety of films, genres, years and performers.
The Friends of the Devereaux Library uses all the money raised to benefit the campus library. Past projects include the library’s downtime area where students can sit in comfortable furniture to read or study, as well as the library’s video and compact disc collection. The money allows the library to purchase things outside normal funding. Without the money from the series, these things wouldn’t exist at all.
Nostalgia Night 2003: “The Midas Touch”
January 12 Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly star, and stare, in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller, “Rear Window.” Sponsored by TSP
January 19 Jack Lemmon shines in his Oscar winning performance as Ensign Pulver in “Mister Roberts. Henry Fonda and James Cagney also star in the 1955 World War II comedy/drama. Sponsored by South Dakota Concrete Products and GCC Dacotah
January 26 Elizabeth Taylor is at her best as the daughter of Spencer Tracy in the 1950 comedy, “Father of the Bride.�� Sponsored by Dean Kurtz Construction Company and Ketel Thorstenson, LLP
February 2 Clark Gable, at the height of his career, teams up with Myrna Loy for the 1938 action/comedy, “Too Hot To Handle.” Sponsored by Brink Electric Construction, United Corporation and US Bank
February 9 Judy Garland is spectacular, but Margaret O’Brien steals the show in the all-American 1944 musical, “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Sponsored by National American University February 16 Box office favorite Gary Cooper gives an Oscar-winning performance in the critically acclaimed 1941 drama, “Sergeant York.” Sponsored by First Western Bank, Micro Solutions and SDSM&T Alumni Association
February 23 One of cinema’s greatest legends, John Wayne, gives one of his best performances in the legendary 1952 film, “The Quiet Man.” Sponsored by Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, PC
March 2 Silver screen idol Cary Grant causes swoons in the 1957 romance, “An Affair to Remember.” Sponsored by Wells Fargo, Dave Schmidt Insurance Agency and SDSM&T Foundation
March 9 William Holden and Gloria Swanson give extraordinary performances in the classic 1950 black comedy, “Sunset Boulevard.” Sponsored by Pet Pantry
March 16 Clint Eastwood is quick on the draw in the role that launched him into superstardom, Sergio Leone’s popular 1966 classic, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Sponsored by RESPEC
#30#
Advent Reflections
Lutheran Campus Ministry at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology invites everyone to attend any of three “Advent Reflections” scheduled in December.
Each Advent Reflections will be a quiet candlelight gathering with guided Advent scripture readings. The events give everyone who attends a chance to reflect on the meaning of Advent, the period of time that includes the four Sundays before Christmas.
Each event is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The dates and locations:
•
Wednesday, Dec. 4, Surbeck Student Center
•
Wednesday, Dec. 11, Surbeck Student Center
•
Wednesday, Dec. 18, Surbeck Student Center
Call 355-3073 for information.
#30#

The work from which this copy was made did not include a formal copyright notice. This work may be protected by U. S. copyright law (Title 17, United States Code), which governs reproduction, distribution, public display, and other uses of protected works. Uses may be allowed with permission from the copyright holder, if the copyright on the work has expired, or if the use is fair use or within another legal exemption. The user of this work is responsible for compliance with the law.